"Then what was with that time limit?" David looked at her as if he was looking at a fool.
"I usually get the letter early in the morning and I get it delivered to Liam before 9 o'clock at night. It's kinda like a time limit I have set for myself." Stella replied to him as she found her way around the table and settled down on her swiveling chair.
"What have I gotten myself into?" David murmured under his breath.
"What?" Stella looked at him quizzically as his volume was too low for her to hear.
"Nothing. I will be on my way then." He replied to her, passing her a forced smile as he waved the file in the air.
Stella just shrugged it off as her eyes landed on his retreating figure. 'He sure is weird.' She thought to herself before shifting her attention to the pile of files which was resting right before her eyes.
-------
"I thought we were supposed to go to a meeting." David gave her a confused look as he gazed around himself.
The duo was currently in a mall which was owned by Liam. They had just crossed the walk through gates when David began to interrogate her.
"We are here for the meeting." Stella shook her head in helplessness. 'What the hell was I thinking when I chose him for the post of my personal assistant?' She was beginning to question her own decision. There was no doubt that he was damn good at doing his job. It was his personality which she found annoying. Why did he have to go around and poke his nose in her matters every single time.
"You didn't tell me that." David frowned looking at her annoyed expression. "And we are half an hour way according to the scheduled time."
"I'm not bound to inform you everything, David." Stella smack her forehead as she felt a headache building up. "And yes I know that we are early. I need to get a haircut before the meeting."
"Wait, what!" He looked at her as if she had grown some devil horns. "You have such beautiful hair, why do you need to cut them?" He motioned towards her ponytail which reached up to her waist and was swinging in the air with her every moment.
"It's hard to manage them. I can either manage the company or them. And for now, I have to focus on the company. I would prefer to spend my time on reading a proposal rather than untangling the locks of my hair." Stella just shrugged in response.
"Oh! Here we are." She pointed towards the entrance of the salon she usually got her work done from. It was a high end salon and one would need to have a membership card just to make it through the entrance. Luckily, not only did she have a membership card but she was among those few people who were their royalty card holders.
She had already called the owner of the salon to make sure that he would be here today and not at some other branch. Even if he had some other appointments at their other branch, he would have gladly cancelled them for her.
"You can do whatever you want to until I get free. But I want you to be here the very moment I walk out of the salon. Do you understand?" She raised her right eyebrow at him.
"Yeah." David could only agree with the woman as she was indeed his Boss and he was bound to listen to her unless he didn't want the job. He began to make a mental list of all the stores he could visit in the allotted time. He just wanted to buy some new clothes for himself. It wouldn't take him much long anyways. But he still set a countdown timer on his smartwatch as he stared at her disappearing figure. Knowing her, she would even if he was a minute late. He wouldn't like it, would he?
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In a small town, a woman sat on a wooden bench under a lamp post as she waited for the bus. She was wearing a long cream colored coat over a simple black button down shirt which blue acid washed jeans. Her straight blonde hair was tied up in a bun with a few loose strands escaping from the grip of her scrunchie which were framing her bare face. The only thing she had used on her face was a nude color lip gloss to keep her lips from cracking up under the assault of the cold wind.
She rubbed her hands together to produce some warmth. She was regretting that she hadn't brought her gloves with herself to work. She glanced at her wrist watch and sighed when she looked at the time. It was way past nine p.m and the bus hadn't arrived yet. She was just hoping that it would eventually arrive or else she would have to walk to her lodge in this freezing cold weather.
"Excuse me, Ma'am?" She felt a light tap on her shoulder which was followed by a question. "Are you waiting for the bus as well?"
Her eyes trailed up to the owner of the voice. She could barely see his face clearly under the faint yellow light which the lamp post was emitting. "Yes, it's a bit late than usual." She replied before diverting her eyes back on the road which was covered with a thin layer of snow.
"Phew! I thought I missed it. Goodness gracious that I made it in time, or else I might have to walk back to my cabin." The man heaved out a long sigh as relief washed over her that he had barely managed to avoid the trouble of walking all the way back to his cabin.
"Can I sit here? I mean if it's okay with you." He asked the lady as he pointed towards the empty space on the bench.
"Sure." She replied to him plainly as she looked at the empty space next to her which could easily fit three people.
"By the way, I am Joe, Joe Smith." He extended his hand towards the woman.
"Hi! Joe, Joe Smith." She replied showing the least amount of interest in him.
"Hello Rachel." He smiled at her.
Rachel finally looked at the man who was sitting next to her, eyes popping out of their sockets. She was about to yell at the top of her lungs, but the man raised his hands up in the air.
"I am not some creepy stalker, relax. You forgot to take your work badge off." He pointed towards the front of her coat while keeping the other one still suspended in the air. "If you don't want others to know your name, I suggest that you take it off before leaving from work." He put his hands down, placing them on his lap.
"I don't work, it was some volunteer thingy." Rachel replied to him while taking the badge off her coat.
"Trying to do something good." The man smiled at her to which she just shook her head.
"Trying to find some peace." Rachel gave him a sad smile in return.
"You don't like that you are from here." Joe spoke up as he tried to make small talk with her.
"What gave away? My blonde hair or my fluent English?" She gave him a lopsided grin.
"I guess both." Joe replied looking at her. "But why would someone like you come to this remote town. One look at you and anyone can tell that you are from some rich family." He continued as he pointed at the way she was sitting up with a straight backbone. "If it's peace, why come here of all the places in the world."
"Well, my father sent me to the capital city to finish off my degree as a punishment. I am currently on vacation as I already gave the exams of four semesters all together. I will go back after spending some time alone and give the remaining exams, get the degree early and find myself a stable job." Rachel replied to him as he continued to stare at her, probably not believing his ears.
Looking at the baffled expression of the man, she decided to continue. "I used to be a bright student before I messed up my life and did some things I am not proud of. So here I am, trying to straighten the shit out of my life." She shrugged her shoulders as if it was something normal.
"Oh! I forgot to mention that my father is still not talking to me. I have been sending him letters, but I never get a reply." She added the latter with a sad smile.
"Enough about me. Tell me about yourself. I have been in this town for almost half a month now, never saw you for even once. What's your story? What brought you here?" She questioned the man who was still staring at her with a weird expression on his face. Since there was no sign of the bus, it was a better option to chat rather than sitting quietly. Moreover, he was the first person she had actually told the truth to.
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